The winning activation formula at this year’s Grammys was simple – make (native) marketing all about the music.
2016 saw the ‘native’ trend (matching form and function) reach the live awards show stage and four stand-out campaigns that successfully applied the formula were alliances between Recording Academy sponsor Intel and Lady Gaga, fellow partner Target and Gwen Stefani, and advertiser Squarespace and Leon Bridges, as well as presenting sponsor MasterCard’s ‘Rock The Red Carpet’.
Hosted by LL Cool J, the 58th Grammy Awards was the USA’s biggest annual music event and the most watched TV show of the year so far other than the Super Bowl.
So it still offers sponsors and advertisers a rare platform and a unique engagement opportunity.
However, a new night of the week (Monday) and diminished star-power saw CBS’ Grammys telecast audience slip to a seven year low – attracting just under 25 million viewers.
According to Nielsen, the music event drew an audience of 24.95 million – 300,000 down on last year’s total (which itself was the smallest audience since 2009). It notched up a 7.7 rating among adults age 18 to 49 (who accounted for 9.7 million watchers).
